By Dan Shouse
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
The Patriots and Colts last week was like one of those games on John Madden Football where you would have hit the reset button on your PS3, started over, and acted like the first game never happened. It is time to erase the debacle that was last week and move on. It never happened. It was all just a bad dream. I feel better already.
Here are this weeks picks.
Patriots 28 Jets 13
The Patriots are a much better team than the one the Jets saw back in week 2. The Jets are not the same team either. After looking great the first 3 games, the Jets have come crashing back down to earth. Rex Ryan will be crying again this week.
Giants 23 Falcons 17
This is huge game for both teams. The winner will stay alive in the NFC playoff race, and the loser could be done. The Giants are coming off a bye, and the Falcons are without Michael Turner. It all adds up to another tough day for Matt Ryan.
Chargers 34 Broncos 17
What a difference a month makes. After starting 6-0, the Broncos are really struggling. The Chargers started slow, but are now playing their best ball of the year. Add in the fact that the Broncos may have Chris Simms under center, and things could go from bad to worse for Josh McDaniels. Make it four straight losses for Denver.
Redskins 27 Cowboys 20
This has been the time of year that the Cowboys start to struggle. Last week they put up a stinker against Green Bay. This time they will be getting booed at home. The Redskins looked good with Ladell Betts carrying the load against the Broncos a week ago. The past 2 games Washington has shown signs of life. It will continue this week as the Redskins pull off another upset.
Lions 10 Browns 6
I thought that last Sunday's game between Oakland and KC was the worst match up of the year. I was wrong. This game is worse. The Lions will get the job done at home.
Packers 16 49ers 14
The 49ers defense looked great against the Bears, and were solid against the Colts a few games back. The problem is on offense. Frank Gore cannot do it alone. The Pack will keep Aaron Rodgers from getting sacked just enough for him to get Green Bay the win.
Steelers 35 Chiefs 10
The Steelers potent offense was kept out of the end zone against the Bengals last game. They will have no such problems against the Chiefs. Steelers dominate from start to finish.
Vikings 31 Seahawks 16
The Seahawks have struggled on the road, and the Vikings are playing as well as anybody right now. Vikings get an easy win.
Saints 33 Buccaneers 21
The Rams nearly pulled off a big upset against the Saints last game. The Saints learned their lesson. They will eliminate the mistakes and turnovers that almost cost them the game against the Rams. The Bucs have looked better since Josh Freeman took over the starting QB spot, but the Saints will do enough to stay unbeaten.
Colts 27 Ravens 7
Speaking of unbeaten teams, the Colts will continue to roll in Baltimore. Peyton Manning will not need any last minute heroics this time around, as he keeps Indy perfect.
Jaguars 21 Bills 7
The Bills have a new coach, but they will have the same results. The Jags have been playing much better the last 3 weeks, and will find themselves in the middle of the race for a wild card spot after beating Buffalo.
Cardinal 38 Rams 13
Kurt Warner will come back to haunt his old team. Cardinals remain undefeated on the road this season, and in firm control of the NFC West.
Bengal 20 Raiders 3
Cedric Benson may be out, but it will not matter. The Raiders cannot stop the run no matter who they are playing. Bernard Scott will do fine filling in for the injured Benson.
Eagles 24 Bears 14
With Brian Westbrook likely done for the year, look for the Eagles to air it out. Jay Cutler continues to struggle for the Bears, and look for him to throw at least 2 picks this time out. Eagles get back in position to win the NFC East.
Texans 28 Titans 24
The Texans have a chance to creep closer to a playoff spot for the first time in team history. If they are going to get the win, they have to do something no other team has been able to do - stop Chris Johnson. This is one of the bigger games in Houston Texans history. Expect them to step and get the win.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
A must-win for the Patriots
By Chad Garner
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
It's been a long week in New England.
The pain of losing to the Colts last week hasn't completely worn off, but it's no doubt time to turn the page because the hated New York Jets and bigmouth head coach Rex Ryan are coming to Foxboro and are looking to start another street fight.
Yes, you can say this is a must-win for the Patriots. I know they're 6-3 and lead the AFC East, but they desperately need a win to get that bad taste out of their mouth from last week and to shut up the Jets and get their swagger back.
The last time the Pats and Jets met was in Week 2. Both teams have gotten better, just like everyone else, but the Pats have been a lot more consistent considering the Jets enter with a sub-.500 record at 4-5.
In the first meeting, the Jets won, 16-9, in a frustrating game for the Pats and quarterback Tom Brady. It's was only Brady's second game back from his knee injury and looking back on his play now, boy was he rusty.
Brady was 23 of 47 for 216 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT and was harassed all day long by the Jets' blitzing defense. But remember one thing, the Pats were without WR Wes Welker and the Jets were able to neutralize Randy Moss with star cornerback Darrelle Revis and safety help over the top.
If the Jets want to double Moss (4 catches for 24 yards) again -- and don't buy the lip service from Revis that he locked Moss down one-on-one the entire game because it's simply not true -- they will pay dearly.
With Moss and Welker on the same field, it's pick your poison for the Jets. Obviously they're going to pay extra attention to Moss, so if that's the case expect Welker to play a big role considering the Jets will blitz Brady again and the QB will have to look to get rid of the ball quick (and his favorite target when teams blitz are either short to Welker or fade routes to Moss deep).
But the Pats must show they can run the ball with Laurence Maroney (does everyone love bashing him or what?) and Kevin Faulk, who looked good last week vs. the Colts.
That brings us to the other side of the ball -- the defense. I know they felt like coach Bill Belichick didn't have confidence in them last week when he left the offense on the field and went for it on fourth-and-2 in their own territory late, so here's their shot to gain confidence back by being able to shut down the Jets.
New York's offense all starts with the running game, led by tough tailback Thomas Jones. While the Pats did a great job in holding him down in the first meeting (Jones had only 54 yards on 14 carries), Leon Washington had 58 yards but he is now on injured reserve.
So it's important to shut the running game right down and make rookie QB Mark Sanchez beat them. Sanchez, who scuffled in the first half vs. the Pats in Week 2, did exactly that the last time by throwing for 163 yards on 14-of-22 passing with a third-quarter TD pass to Dustin Keller. The most important stat for the rookie was zero interceptions.
The Pats must confuse Sanchez with several different coverage looks. There's no reason they shouldn't be able to, considering they had Peyton Manning shaking his head in the first half last week.
But it's not going to matter one bit unless they can get some kind of pressure on Sanchez. If he's allowed to sit back and survey the field, his receivers will get open and the rookie out of Southern California will find his targets.
Chad's Take: I can't believe many of these football gurus think this is going to be a blowout with the Pats winning. These division rivals know each other inside and out, and I think it's going to be a pretty close game. I think the Jets will find some running room with Jones exploiting the middle and that will allow Sanchez to set up play-action with some effectiveness. But I also think the Pats will have a few defensive wrinkles that the rookie hasn't seen, and the defense is a major reason why they come out on top.
I think the Patriots' offense will struggle at times because they really can't run the football with any type of consistency, not to mention they don't stick with it long enough to really be effective. So it again falls on the passing game to put together lengthy drives because the Jets will not allow the Pats to strike fast with Moss outrunning the secondary. The Pats will have to take what the Jets give and that's going to be short to intermediate passes because of the Jets' constant pressure schemes.
But in the end, Brady and Co. will do just enough to pull out a closer-than-expected victory.
Prediction: 23-20
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